College May Discontinue Advanced Placement Course Credit

Author: Dan Phillips

At the April 7 faculty meeting, the Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) proposed restricting the use of Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores to admissions and placement only, thereby preventing students from receiving AP credit toward degree requirements.
The EAC brought before the faculty an amendment to a December motion which was designed to limit AP course credits to a maximum of five towards graduation. The amendment, which the faculty narrowly agreed to consider at their May meeting, would instead grant no course credit for AP exams.
Current policy usually awards credit for scores of four or five.
According to the EAC plans, "the intent of this procedure is to give us the opportunity for an up-or-down vote on the question of whether any credit toward the degree should be available for Advanced Placement scores." If the proposal meets faculty endorsement in May, it would take effect starting in the fall semester of 2005.
Publications would be issued next year to explain the new policies to incoming students.
Dialogue on AP credit grew out of an EAC discussion held two years ago about transferring credit from abroad. Both issues involved awarding credit for work completed outside of the College's curriculum.
AP credit is increasingly important as more students are coming into the College with numerous credits.
Monday's faculty meeting decision on whether to discuss the EAC proposal was close: 34 voted in favor, 26 were opposed.
Discussion of the topic also took place at an April 6 meeting of the the Student Government Association (SGA). The SGA hosted an hour long session on Sunday concerning the EAC's motion. Secretary of the College Eric Davis and Dean of Faculty and Chair of the EAC Robert Schine led the discussion with SGA President Ginny Hunt '03.
Schine explained at the SGA discussion that the EAC's position on awarding academic credit for AP exams has changed since the initial proposal in December to simply limit the numbr of AP credits that could be counted towards graduation.
It is now the EAC's position that the College should not grant college credit for classes taken in high school since a "demonstrated competency" in a particular area of the curriculum is not sufficient.
"The EAC believes that students should receive Middlebury College course credit only when they have taken a course that has been determined by the relevant department chair or program director to be comparable in its objectives and academic rigor to Middlebury College courses," said Schine.
He elaborated that "the credit you earn in high school should not be double-counted in college."
Davis outlined the four ways students can currently use AP credit at Middlebury.
Students initially use the examinations for admissions purposes, along with SAT scores, to bolster their application packet. The AP exams can also be used for placement purposes allowing students to bypass introductory courses and enroll in higher level classes.
These two treatments of AP credit would not be affected by the proposal that awaits consideration by the faculty. However, students would no longer be allowed to count their AP scores for college course credit, nor would they be able to satisfy the two culture and civilizations requirements.
The EAC distinguishes between a course taught in high school and a course handled by a college-level faculty member who is conversant with the newly-published literature in his or her field, and who has also done extensive research.
There also exists a higher level of expectations and discourse from the student body at college, which is drawn from a wider background than most high schools. Yale University physics professor William Lichten, who worked as a fellow at Educational Services Testing (ETS), points out that AP courses only prepare students to take the specific AP test, particularly in the math and science fields.
Departments under the current policy, such as the English department, defer AP credits towards the student's major.
Davis explained on Sunday that departments generally do not allow students to reduce the number of classes required for their major.
Other departments, such as the Spanish Department, do not grant AP credit until the student enrolls in a 300-level course.
The system of discontinuing AP exams for course credits has already been adopted by other highly competitive academic institutions such as Harvard University, Amherst College and Hamilton College.
The notion that the more talented applicants who want to utilize their numerous and laudable AP credit could be driven away from Middlebury has been refuted by the Admissions Office, which thinks that the move might even help raise the College's reputation by setting a higher standard.
The issue of AP's has been equated with the awarding of academic credit for IB exams, A-Levels and courses taken abroad, since only 18 graduation credits are required to be obtained on campus. Schine addressed their deliberate lack of mention at Sunday's meeting.
"[These international programs] occupy somewhat of a twilight zone in American education, and we recognize that."
A staggering 111 students in the Class of 2006 have six or more AP credits, but AP courses are unavailable at various high schools across the country, thus the college is not granting an equal opportunity for all students at Middlebury to benefit.
Only 55 percent of Middlebury students have taken one or more AP exam.
Many students present at Sunday's SGA meeting, along with Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson, expressed their concerns for the "safety valve" that AP credit has always offered by helping some students to graduate on time and providing relief for the mental health of Middlebury students.
The AP credit gives students the option to venture into new fields of study.
Many seniors take three classes while writing a thesis and applying for jobs.
Students present at the meeting expressed concern that the motion to discontinue AP credits contradicts the integrity of the liberal arts education that Middlebury College strives to uphold.
As of now, no decision has been made regarding the fate of AP credits. The issue will be resolved at the May faculty meeting.